by Dan Wolken, USA TODAY Sports

by Dan Wolken, USA TODAY Sports

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - To understand just how complex and sometimes chaotic the organizational structure of a big-time college football program can be, one would only need to have followed the developments surrounding Texas A&M this summer.

As quarterback Johnny Manziel got bigger and his influence over the news cycle got stronger, the school's ability to keep tabs on his activities got smaller, and the next thing anybody knew there was an NCAA investigation and a major distraction on Texas A&M's doorstep.

In that context, it makes what No. 1-ranked Alabama has accomplished under Nick Saban all the more impressive. Even after three national titles in four years, even as the so-called external circumstances Saban despises become more intense, they still follow the script here down to the letter, as if the coach's tropes and proverbs have been seared into their minds.

"We don't buy into the hype here a lot," sophomore receiver Amari Cooper said Monday to kick off the most-anticipated week of the year in college football. "I think all the hype is really irrelevant because at the end of the day you have to go play the game. The hype isn't real. The things they say on TV and stuff like that, it doesn't line up with what's really going on."

The one exception, of course, to Saban's single-minded, almost robotic approach occurred last season when Manziel became legend at the Crimson Tide's expense. For 60 minutes, he drew Alabama into the chaotic, seat-of-your-pants world of Johnny Football and came out the other side as a national phenomenon, winning the game, 29-24, and ultimately the Heisman Trophy.

For Alabama, though, redemption this week in College Station, Texas, isn't about the phony narrative of revenge or trying to knock Manziel off his pedestal. It is about playing the game on its terms, about not allowing the cracks in discipline that got the Tide in trouble last year, about staying in the realm of order and calm amid the frenzied environment in which Manziel seems to thrive.

"The most important thing in games like this is (whether) people can stay focused and disciplined to do simple and fundamental things correctly," Saban said. "When you play against really good players, on any down in the game, any lack of that ability to focus and be disciplined is going to help them be able to make those plays."

What remains so stunning about the game last season is not so much that Texas A&M won, but rather the Aggies' ability to get Alabama so completely out of sorts for stretches.

Maybe there were legitimate reasons.

The Crimson Tide had just come off an emotionally draining comeback victory at rival LSU. Perhaps they weren't completely ready for the offensive pace of Texas A&M. Maybe - and this would be particularly rare for a Saban team - they took the Southeastern Conference newcomers a bit lightly.

"It's just one of those things, you never really know," guard Anthony Steen said.

No matter why it happened, Alabama traliled 20-0 almost instantly last season and had to scramble from behind, which proved to be too tall a task against Manziel.

And though Saban didn't make any excuses, this time there are none. If Alabama gets beat, it is unlikely to be the result of any surprises or deviation from the script.

Their defensive backs know they can't come off receivers if Manziel starts to scramble and extend plays. They know that Texas A&M's pace will cause some substitution problems and that "specialty packages," which play to the strength of Saban's gameplanning abilities, might be difficult to get on the field.

They've had the last week off to prepare for everything in the Aggies' arsenal. And most of all, Alabama's key players have been in two or three of these "Game of the Century" type scenarios each year over the course of their careers.

When Alabama says this is just like another week for them, it's not too far from the truth.

"Consistency in performance is the key to being successful, and you can't be up and down," Saban said. "I think when people talk about emotion all the time that creates that. It was an emotional win for us at LSU (last year), but that can't be an excuse not to be ready to play the next week. It can't be acceptable. You're not going to be consistent, especially in our league."

Dan Wolken, a national college football reporter for USA TODAY Sports, is on Twitter @DanWolken.